The figure comes after a report by the parent company Coca-Cola HBC shows volumes in Romania contracted by as much as 10% in the first six months of this year against the same period of 2013.
The giant company blamed the decline on the challenging commercial context and on the pressure coming from rivals’ promotions. This is the sixth year in a row the bottler is unable to boost sales volume in the first year-half.
Coca-Cola HBC representatives did not comment on the results by edition close.
The bottler’s revenue stabilized this year considering in 2013 Coca-Cola HBC Romania posted revenue of RON1.8 billion (EUR410 million), down 7% on the year.
This year put a brake on the sales of most soft drinks players amid the unfavorable weather. Brewers and ice-cream companies also complained about falling sales.
The soft drinks market slid by around 4% in volume last year, taking further the downward trend of recent years.
While revenue remained unchanged this year, Coca-Cola HBC Romania saw net profit rise by around 83% to RON32.8 million (EUR7.5 million), according to ZF calculations. In 2013, the company had the lowest profit margin in the past six years, of below 5%.
Coca-Cola HBC, which owns three production units in Romania, in Ploiesti, Timisoara and Vatra Dornei, had 1,555 employees on average in mid-2014.
Last year, the gross average salary of a Coca-Cola employee stood at RON5,766 (EUR1,304), up almost 50% against 2008. During the same period, the number of employees shrank by almost 1,000 people, according to ZF calculations.
Consumption of drinks part of Coca-Cola HBC revolves around 40 liters per capita in Romania, compared with 27 liters in Italy or 24 liters in Poland. Thus, Romania, where Coca-Cola started operations in 1991, is one of the best countries in eastern Europe for the US giant.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)